


Elphaba Thropp and the Stunning Realization that Magic is Real

by myth_taken



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Wicked - All Media Types
Genre: Hogwarts AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-02 10:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4057021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myth_taken/pseuds/myth_taken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wicked Hogwarts AU. Eventual Gelphie.</p><p>The title is very temporary. I couldn't think of anything better. (And my google doc is titled "elphaba is a ravenclaw and i will FIGHT YOU", which didn't seem appropriate.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of things:  
> -the setting of this is a bit odd, since I didn't want to take them out of Oz, but I did want Hogwarts to exist. So basically what this is Hogwarts if it were in Oz. Magic works like it did in the Harry Potter canon, not the Wicked canon. This is largely because I am too lazy to work out actual locations for the characters.  
> -I've kept most of the Hogwarts teachers in, but Madame Morrible is the Headmistress rather than Professor Dumbledore, and Doctor Dillamond is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Hagrid is still the groundskeeper, though.
> 
> I'll add to this as things pop up. It's hard to mesh the two canons, so I feel like I have to clear things up a bit.

“There's a letter for you, Fabala.”

Elphaba took the letter from her father, wondering who would be writing to her. She had no pen pals, subscribed to no catalogs, and overall was not the sort of person who was often written to.

Therefore, she slipped her finger under the heavy paper of the envelope with some trepidation, unsure of what was to come when she lifted the flap and extracted the paper inside.

It was a short letter:

_Dear Miss Thropp,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Professor Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Owl? What could that mean? Elphaba wasn’t sure she had ever seen a real owl, although she had read much about them. She loved animals, and she knew a lot about many different varieties. But she did not have an owl, nor did she want one. She couldn’t give an owl the care it would need.

Also, what was “witchcraft and wizardry”? Was it a code? What could it mean?

Elphaba wondered who to tell. She couldn’t tell her father, although she would have to eventually. Her mother was dead. Nessarose and Shell were both too young to know or care. Who would know? Who would care?

At that moment, she heard a knock on the door. She stood up, hoping to see who it was from the hall; she had long ago been forbidden from going to the door herself, lest the visitor be startled by her skin tone.

This time, however, she distinctly heard the words, “I’m calling for Elphaba Thropp,” from the door. She figured this would make it safe to come out. She slid into the entryway silently, but she was quickly spotted by the guest. “Is that her?”

Elphaba had no choice but to make herself seen. “I’m Elphaba.” She ignored her father hissing at her (“What have I told you about coming to the door, Fabala?”) and waited for a response.

“Excellent. Have you received your letter yet?” The guest was very tall, and Elphaba, being short for her age, could barely see the eyes peering down at her through small, round glasses.

Elphaba looked down at the letter still in her hands. “This one?”

“Yes, that one. I have come to help explain its contents to your parents.”

“I only have one parent,” Elphaba said. “You can explain to him, though.”

Frex stepped forward, a forced smile on his face. “Yes, do come in.”

Frex led the guest to their living room, and he didn’t say anything to discourage Elphaba from following them, so she snuck in too, hiding behind Frex’s chair.

“Call me Professor McGonagall,” the stranger said as she sat down in Nessarose’s customary chair. “Your daughter has been accepted into a school for witches and wizards.”

“That isn’t real,” Frex said, and Elphaba was surprised at the certainty in his voice. “Witchcraft is condemned by the Unnamed God, and I will not have such heresy in my house.”

“It is, in fact, real,”  said Professor McGonagall. There was a moment of silence before Frex made a noise of surprise, and Elphaba peeked around his chair to see a cat sitting where the professor had been. A moment later, the cat seemed to begin to grow, and its legs were elongating, and it was retracting fur in most places and growing more hair on its head, and when all was over, Professor McGonagall was sitting in one of the Thropps’ armchairs as if she had never moved. “Now, I advise you invite your daughter out from behind your chair so that we might discuss a few things.”

Elphaba circled the chair to stand in between Professor McGonagall and Frex, facing the professor. She didn’t say anything, and neither did McGonagall, until Frex said, “Elphaba, I’ve told you not to spy on me.”

“This is a matter of her own future,” Professor McGonagall said, speaking around Elphaba to Frex. “Surely you would allow her in the room?”

Frex made an exasperated noise and settled back in his chair. Elphaba sat down in the hard chair next to Professor McGonagall that was usually reserved for Nanny, who was always at Nessarose’s side.

“Now, Elphaba, I’m going to explain to you and your father about that letter. It means that you were born with talent for magic. If you go to our school, you could do all sorts of things.”

“Magic isn’t real,” Elphaba said, but she remembered McGonagall’s cat form and hesitated. “Is it?”

Professor McGonagall took out a long, thin, stick and said two words that Elphaba immediately forgot, writing it off as gibberish, something that she regretted when the room’s remaining armchair turned into a large chicken. With a flick of the stick, the chicken became a chair again, and both Frex and Elphaba were staring at it, jaws agape.

Elphaba listened as the professor explained about the school. She was already looking forward to it; this was a place where neither Frex nor Nessarose could follow. Nor Shell, she supposed, but Shell had never done anything she didn’t like.

“And you’ll have to get supplies, of course. The school has a fund for students from Muggle- non-magical- parents to buy things with wizard money. I am willing to accompany you, of course, and help you find everything you need.”

The conversation paused for a long moment as Frex mulled this over. Finally, he said, “All right. She will attend this school.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The train ride.

After a trip to a wonderful nearby street, careful instructions as to how to get to the train, and a month of impatient waiting, Elphaba was ready to go. Frex took her to the station, although he didn’t help her find her train; Nessarose had a doctor’s appointment that day, and Frex had to rush to get her there on time.

Elphaba made her way to the platform, looking at her ticket in confusion. Nine and three quarters. What did that mean? She couldn’t see a platform nine and three quarters. She could see a platform nine, and a platform ten, and nothing in between. She walked up to the barrier, standing about an inch away, and put a curious hand against it. To her surprise, her hand went right through, and she quickly followed, dragging her luggage behind her.

The platform was one of the most crowded places she had ever been. Sure, she had gone up before an audience in her father’s attempts to convert Quadlings, but she had never been in the middle of the crowd; instead, she had been the object of the crowd’s gaze. Now, she felt hemmed in by all the people rushing around, the parents saying goodbye, the students pulling luggage, and so on. She jumped as an owl flew past, chased by a frantic student, before directing her attention to the train.

It was long, glossy, and bright red. Elphaba almost, for a moment, thought that perhaps this train could take her to a fantastic life, but she quickly quashed that. She was green, after all. What fantastic life was there for her?

Still, it would be a different life, and that was nice. As she lifted her luggage onto the train, she couldn’t help but feel like she had escaped.

\--

Once on the train, there was nothing for Elphaba to do but observe her surroundings and wait until she started moving. She was enthralled at the interior compartment; although she assumed it was an ordinary train compartment, she had never been on a train before.

Elphaba didn’t get too far into her musings, however, before she heard a quiet knock on the door. She turned to look through the window into the hall, and she saw a boy about her age, looking just as lost and confused as her. His most notable feature was the turquoise diamonds set into his face and trailing down his collarbone, contrasting starkly with his dark skin.

He opened the door when he saw Elphaba looking at him. “Hello. Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No,” Elphaba said, “as long as you don’t mind that I’m green.” She wasn’t sure where the retort had come from, but she liked it.

The boy laughed. “If you won’t mind my skin tone, I won’t mind yours. What’s your name?”

“Elphaba, Third Thropp Descending of Munchkinland.” Elphaba had been taught by Frex to recite her full name and title every time she introduced herself, although she had no intention of actually becoming the Eminent Thropp, and she suspected Frex had no intention of letting her.

“Fiyero Tigelaar. Heir to the throne of the Arjikis in the Vinkus, if titles matter.” Fiyero stuck out a hand.

Elphaba shook it. “They don’t.”

Fiyero sat in the seat across from Elphaba, and she realized that perhaps there were people who might not mind her unfortunate hue after all.

A few moments later, the compartment door opened to reveal a boy about their age. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt that was covered in glitter; Elphaba thought he must have dipped it in a vat of the stuff.

“Hello. I’m Gavind Arduenna of the Uplands. Are you first-years?”

“Yes. How much glitter died to give you that shirt?” Elphaba asked.

Gavind ignored the question. “I’m meeting every first year on the train.” He hesitated and moved back, her nose wrinkling as she looked at Elphaba. “Are you naturally that color?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Weird. Your name?”

“Elphaba, the Third Thropp Descending of Munchkinland.”

“You mean they’d have a vegetable as the Eminent Thropp? How awful.” Galinda turned to Fiyero. “And who are you?”

“Fiyero Tigelaar, heir to the throne of the Arjikis.”

“What’s an Arjiki?”

“It’s what my people are called. In the Vinkus.”

“Oh. Weird.” Gavind did a sort of half wave. “Bye. I’m going to find some normal people.”

He left, and Elphaba immediately turned her head away from the door, looking out the window. All the families left on the platform looked so content… of course, some were crying, since their children were leaving, but they were families.

Before she could get too deep into self-pity, she heard Fiyero laugh. “Well, we know which one to avoid, it seems.”

“Yes,” Elphaba agreed.

The train began to move, slowly at first, but then faster and faster. Elphaba was enthralled by the rocking motion; she had never been on a train before. She took a book from her luggage, then sat in her chair with her knees to her chest, reading the book and enjoying the movement of the train.

“What’s it like in Munchkinland?”

Elphaba was jolted out of her stupor by Fiyero’s question. Her legs flew away from her chest, landing on the floor, and her arms landed on her thighs, still holding her book. “What?” Then, realizing what he had said, she said, “I haven’t been to Munchkinland since I was three and Nessarose was born.”

“Nessarose?”

“My sister. She was born, and father moved us all to Quadling Country to convert the Quadlings to Unionism. My parents had a Quadling friend who died. What’s it like in the Vinkus?”

Fiyero shrugged. “Sunny, mostly. Is your family magical?”

Elphaba shook her head. “My father was shocked when I got the letter to come here. Of course, I’m green, so I’m not sure what he expected.”

“You mean the rest of your family’s not green?”

“No. I’m the lone freak. Although Nessarose doesn’t have arms. But that’s normal enough for Father to care about her. Is your family magical?”

“I’m half-blood. My mother’s magical. My father isn’t. He’s who I inherit my title from, though.”

“Did she come to Hogwarts?”

“Yes, a long time ago. She was in Gryffindor.”

“What’s that?”

“One of the Houses. Hogwarts has four Houses: Gryffindor, for the brave and the bold, Slytherin, for the cunning and ambitious, Ravenclaw, for those who love to learn, and Hufflepuff, for all the rest. I hope I’m in Gryffindor.”

Elphaba kept quiet. She didn’t know what House she wanted to be in. She wasn’t sure she cared.


End file.
